


The Science Behind It

by The_Ringmaster



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 14:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9660482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ringmaster/pseuds/The_Ringmaster
Summary: I wrote this out a while ago, and I just decided to add it here for kicks and giggles. It's about the co-Champion of Hoenn, her Mega Evolution "gift," and her unwanted trip to Kalos.My questions for you are whether 1) I should go on with this, and 2) if I should make this a Clemont x OC!Reader or not.I'll go back and edit these as soon as I can!





	1. A Visitor?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if Steven is too OOC. I can also go back to edit that, but I'll need some time, since I'm caught up with homework and a couple art projects at the moment. Thanks for the patience, and please enjoy this first chapter!

Quiet music echoed off the stone walls of the large room, filling her with a nostalgic feeling. From afar, she could hear the faint sounds of a battle, but she assumed it was just an Elite Four member training their team, so she paid it no mind. Humming along to the tune of the song, she dangled her feet off of the chair she sat on, a bit bored of the lack of action. Where was Steven when she needed him?

"Hello!"

That voice... it sounded so young. Was that a... challenger? Those were very rare around here, but it was always a possibility, she assumed.

"Hi there!" she called back, over to the cracked-open door, in curiosity, sitting up a bit straighter in her seat.

She could see a small head poke through the door. "Are you Champion Harlow?" a boy asked, trying to push open the massive door so he could get into the room.

Her eyes widened. This was her challenger? No offense to him, but how had he made it this far? "Oh, honey," she began, standing and rushing over to the door. "Yes, I'm Harlow. Are you here for a battle?"

Harlow stopped dead in her tracks.

The door was opening, but it was obviously not the boy doing so. Who else was with him?

He shook his head, smiling widely. "No, ma'am. My brother's challenging Miss Glacia right now. Mr. Steven said he'd take me to see you, so here I am!"

Cocking her head to the side, Harlow smiled widely as another familiar face poked out from behind the door.

"And, of course, the door's stuck again."

Harlow ran a hand down her face, chuckling. So that's what he'd been doing. "Hold on," she said, taking a PokeBall off of her belt and tossing it off to the side. In a flurry of bright blue and white light, a large Tyranitar emerged, crying its name. Turning back to her Trainer, the Pokemon smiled, bending down to her height. "Hey there, Tosca," Harlow greeted her partner, patting her head. "We need your help with the door again, please. We have a visitor!"

Tosca looked over to the boy half hidden by the door, whose eyes were wide and full of wonder. "Ty-Tyran!" she said, ruffling the boy's hair before turning to the door, taking it in one hand and easily pulling it open to reveal the rest of the boy and Steven Stone, a good friend of Harlow. "Tyranitar-tar!"

"Hello to you, too, Tosca!" Steven said with a smile, walking into the room, bringing the boy with him. "This here is Jonas. His brother, Mack, should be here soon. He's a strong one." He turned to look at Harlow before continuing. "Would you like to take him on?"

Harlow nodded, grinning. "Sure! You up for it, Tosca?"

"Ran-Tyran-ranitar!"

"Yay!" Jonas cheered, jumping and punching the air in excitement. "I can't believe I get to watch Champion Harlow battle my brother!"

Again, Harlow chuckled. "We just have to wait for him to get here! In the meantime, would you like to see the rest of my team?" she asked the young child.

Jonas's eyes seemed to grow three times their normal size. "Would I ever!" he responded, visibly shaking with anticipation.

Tosca smiled, sitting next to Jonas and patting her lap, allowing him to climb on and get comfortable.

"Alright," Harlow began, grabbing the other five PokeBalls that sat on her belt, "you ready?" She didn't wait for an answer before tossing all the Balls into the air.

A flurry of voices accompanied the bright flashes of light as the remaining members of the teenager's team emerged. Beside her now stood a Gengar, Ampharos, Gallade, Mawile, and Swampert, all smiling brightly at the newcomer. "Everyone, this is Jonas," Harlow introduced, holding a hand out to the boy. "Jonas, this is Glory, Alma, Gino, Morrie, and Syrus. Say hi, everyone!" Another set of sounds followed her words and Harlow smiled in satisfaction. Her team was so obedient and kind; she couldn't think of a better one she could ever possibly have.

"Wow!" Jonas breathed out, squirming around in Tosca's lap. "That's so cool! I wanna see them battle my brother so badly!"

"You will, I promise!" Harlow replied, patting Morrie's head. "I would think that battle with Glacia should be done right about no-"

Before she could finish, a loud noise sounded from a different room of the building. The noise resembled a scream, and it was quickly accompanied by an, "oh, come on! I made it this far! Are you freakin' kidding me!?"

"That was Mack!" Jonas said, scrambling out of Tosca's grasp and running over to the door. "He must've lost... Oh, no..." He covered his eyes with a hand and leaned against the door. "That's not good. He hates losing!"

Steven calmly walked over to Jonas and bent down to his height, placing a hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to worry, Jonas. All Mack has to do is try again. Then, he'll be sure to make it!" he assured him, gently peeling his hand from his face.

Jonas thought about this information, looking into Steven's eyes. "Y-Yeah," he stuttered, standing up straight, "that's it! I'll just have to make him try again! But I don't think I can wait for the battle with you guys!" Quick as lightning, he hugged Steven, which caught the man off guard, but he didn't hesitate to return the motion. After letting go, Jonas hugged each of Harlow's Pokemon, ending with Tosca, and then turned to Harlow herself. "I guess I'll see ya then, then!" he chuckled, catching Harlow in a similar, tight embrace.

"We'll see you then," Harlow replied, wrapping her arms around Jonas's small form before he pulled back, waved, and rushed out of the room. Giving her team a quick once-over, the brown-haired girl spoke after a moment of silence. "He's energetic, isn't he?"

"Oh yes," Steven replied, smirking and standing from his spot by the door, turning to Harlow. "Are you up for a quick practice battle? We haven't had one in a while."

Harlow visibly paled, but nodded anyway. "Why didn't you let Jonas..." she trailed off, having already answered her own question.

Steven nodded. "I believe you already know the answer to that," he said, simply, heading off to the opposite side of the room-turned-battlefield.

A guilty feeling ate at her stomach as Harlow walked over to the edge of the field closest to her, opposite Steven. What was she supposed to tell Jonas when he returned? That she couldn't battle his brother without probably scaring both boys half to death? No, she could never say that to him. She'd just have to think of something.

Holding her forehead in a hand, Harlow looked back to Glory. "Ready?" she asked, suddenly seeming tired and not up for the fight. Glory noticed this, and she approached her Trainer slowly, rubbing her back in a comforting manner. The Ghost-type's touch sent shivers down her spine, but she refused to waver from them. "Thanks, Glory. Let's just see what happens, alright?" Glory nodded, a small, genuine smile growing on her face, as she took her spot on the battlefield.

"Let's just see what happens," Harlow repeated almost silently to herself, lowering her hand to clutch at her stomach uncomfortably as their opponent made their appearance and the battle began.


	2. Why Must This Happen?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a practice battle between Champions Steven and Harlow! Who will win? How will it end? Was this a good idea on their parts or not? Read on to find out, I guess.

"So, uh," Harlow tried to speak, rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably, "how is this gonna work?"

Steven Stone placed a hand under his chin, lost in thought for a moment. "Let's see what happens if all your Pokemon Mega-Evolve one at a time."

Nodding, the female Champion of Hoenn turned to her team, nodding once again. At the sight of the motion, her team rushed forward to stand on the battlefield before her, all in athletic stances, ready for the battle. "At ease, soldiers," Harlow joked, holding a hand out in front of her almost defensively. "You heard Steven: one at a time, alright? We'll start with Glory."

With a smile, the Gengar shooed the other Pokemon away, chuckling darkly to herself. She took too much pleasure from watching her friends glare at her and shuffle off to the side, glum expressions on their faces. Glory resumed her athletic stance, her paws held out in front of her as she readied herself for an attack.

"Hold on, Glory," Harlow stopped her, raising a finger in the air. "We have to Mega-Evolve you first, remember?"

At the mention of this extra stage of evolution she possessed, Glory's grin widened, and she moved one paw to clamp over her Mega Stone, which was located on her left wrist. "Gar!" she called, telling her Trainer she was ready.

Harlow chuckled, hovering her hand over her Key Stone, which was dangling from her right ear like an earring. "Alright. Let's see what happens." Just before she touched the stone, the pit in her stomach grew more painful, but she only paused for a moment. Growling a bit to herself, she toughed through the pain and finally grabbed the stone, watching with a mixture of fear and excitement as her Ghost-type partner was enveloped in that familiar blue light. She could see her form changing, but the light hid her new appearance for the most part.

The light vanished, revealing a Mega Gengar, who roared in anticipation.

"How do you feel?" Steven called to her Trainer, already expecting what the answer would be.

"Fine," Harlow replied with a small shrug. The pit in her stomach had dissipated quite a bit. "Let's see what happens when we really start this thing!" She now turned to her partner, who glanced back at her, waiting for a command as patiently as she could. "Alright, Glory, use Shadow Ball!"

The purple entity in front of her howled as an even darker purple ball formed in front of her. Glory waited a moment for the ball to hit full power, before shooting it over to Steven's first Pokemon.

His Skarmory tried to dodge the attack, but it wound up hitting its legs, sending it circling through the air. Before getting too close to the ground, it swooped back up, screeching its name as it did so.

"Aerial Ace, Skarmory!" Steven commanded, pointing a hand at Harlow in an almost accusing manner.

The Steel/Flying-type obeyed, sending a quick current of air in Glory's direction.

She wasn't fast enough. The attack hit her square in the face, but all she had to do was shake it off and keep going.

Or not.

"Glory, come back here! That's enough!" Harlow said, pointing to the floor. She had made a deal with Steven: to save time and both their Pokemon from fainting, she would return whoever was battling after they got hit once. Mega-Evolving before the battle started was also part of this deal. "You ready, Alma?"

"Ray-oo!" the Ampharos replied, happily skipping onto the battlefield before narrowing her eyes and taking her own stance. She, too, hovered a paw over the bracelet that held her Mega Stone.

"Let's just see what happens," Harlow whispered to herself for the second time, taking a deep breath before covering her stone, yet again, with her hand. "Mega-Evolve!"

Much like with Glory, the exact physical changes done to Alma could only be seen after the light faded, but it was already obvious that their Trainer was going through changes of her own.

For a moment, Harlow's head ached, but the pain was nothing compared to what was to come. With a now-red face, she looked up to the Mega Ampharos, her fingers flexing on each hand. "Now, Alma, Thunderbolt!"

Her partner followed her command, sending a large jolt of electricity to the Skarmory.

Again, it wasn't fast enough. This time, it got hit in the chest, sending it tumbling down to the ground. It struggled to stand up, but it eventually did, taking to the air once again.

"Toxic, Skarmory!" Steven's eyes were soft as he watched Harlow, to see how much the second Mega-Evolution had affected her.

"Dodge it and use Power Gem!"

Alma dashed off to the side, avoiding the poisonous attack. She skidded her feet on the floor, turned to face her opponent, and manifested rocks, which she hurled towards it.

Skamory fell to the floor as it was barraged with the rocks. It had fainted. Steven congratulated its unconscious form on a job well done, returned it to its PokeBall, and sent out his next partner. "Earth Power!"

The Claydol obeyed, hitting Alma with the attack.

She soared back to Harlow, who watched with wide eyes. Hitting the ground hard, the Electric-type's large form sprung back up, heading off to her friends. She knew her job was done.

"Thank you, Alma," Harlow said, motioning for her Swampert to battle next. Of course, he bounded over to the field like a puppy, barking out its name.

"Syrus, Mega-Evolve!"

Her face was redder now, and she began to hunch over, knees bent. Huffing and puffing loudly, Harlow growled to her Water-type partner with a motion of her hand, "Waterfall!"

Steven was too worried about Harlow's appearance and mannerisms to even think about telling his Claydol to dodge, which left the Ground/Psychic-type in a bit of a pinch. He held a hand up, face blank, as a way to pause the battle. "Harlow," he called over to her, his voice echoing off of the walls of the room, "calm down, please. We can continue this battle another d-"

"No!" He was cut off and taken by surprise by the sudden yell. Harlow clenched her hands into fists, gritting her teeth together. "I wanna keep going! I can do it, Steven! I can handle this!"

"You'll only end up hurting yourself!" Steven retorted, patiently, placing a hand on his hip.

Harlow pointed a finger at him accusingly. "What do you care, anyway, huh? There's no reason to stop! Why bother? I'm fine!"

With a sigh, Steven returned his Claydol, taking a step onto the battlefield. "Harlow, this is even worse than it was before. It's high time I took you to-"

"To who!?" Harlow shrieked, cutting him off once again, holding her hands up by her sides in an almost-shrug. "Where!? Nobody can cure me, Steven. I might as well embrace this."

"That, actually, is..." For a moment, he faked thinking about her take on this mess. Then, he held a hand out towards her. "...a terrible idea. This can only hurt you, Harlow. I've made up my mind, and you are not able to change it. I will arrange your flight to Kalos as soon as possible."

"Wha- KALOS!?" Harlow spluttered before snapping. "What are they gonna do for me there, eh? A whole lotta nothing, like you."

Steven sighed before looking back to Harlow's team and nodding to one of its members. The Pokemon quietly snuck behind her Trainer and waited for the signal. Steven continued. "I've been protecting you, and I believe the people of Kalos might be able to at least make this partially batter for you."

"And what if they can't? What do I do then, Steven? Stay stuck in a cage for the rest of my life? Let them run experiments on me until I die!? I'm not gonna let that happen, thank you very much," Harlow replied, matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at her friend.

Running a hand through his hair, Steven closed his eyes for a moment. "Now."

Tosca wrapped her Trainer in her arms from behind, holding her up off of the floor.

Harlow wriggled in her grasp, but it was too great for her to escape from. "Let go of me!" At the feeling of something pressing against her lower face, she began to hyperventilate, eyes wide. Soon enough, though, they grew heavy, and she quickly fell asleep.

The Tyranitar held Harlow bridal-style as three of the five other members of her team glowed blue-and-white for a moment, reverting back to their original forms. She looked down to Steven, head tilted. Where was she to put Harlow? He had her knock her out why, exactly?

Steven opened his eyes once again. "This was the only way to get her to cooperate," he explained to the Pokemon, leading them out of the room and through the Elite Four's chambers. Each member watched with confusion and wonder as Harlow's sleeping form was brought out of the building, over to the Pokemon Center. "I have already spoken with Nurse Joy. You all will be healed, returned to Harlow in your Pokeballs, and shipped off to Kalos on a plane, which I will call soon. There is nothing to be afraid of, though: I am doing this to help her."

In understanding, Harlow's Pokemon nodded. Tosca placed her Trainer onto a seat before she and the others were brought to Nurse Joy and returned to their homes, just like Steven had said. He, too, sat on the seat, making sure Harlow stayed asleep by rubbing her knee in a comforting manner, waiting for the return of her team as he made the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I have for now. If you want to see more or have any other questions or comments, feel free to tell me in the comments. Thanks!


End file.
